Forecast

Stewart named American's top player, Auriemma top coach

Usually when you have that kind of team, you have a tendency to win a conference championship."

Stewart leads the Huskies in scoring (19.5 ppg) and blocks (2.8 pg) and is also averaging 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals in 29.7 minutes.

She has recorded nine double-doubles, scored at least 20 points in 16 games and has reached double figures in scoring in a career-high 22 straight games.

"She definitely didn't want a replay of last season where she's great, she's average, she's terrible and then she's great," Auriemma said.

"And I know that was really important to her, and you could tell from the very first day of practice that it was going to be different, because once you start being consistent in practice, then you're going to start being consistent in games."

Stewart has been at her best against the best competition, too. She is averaging 20.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals in 32.4 minutes in 10 games against ranked opponents this season.

She is averaging 19.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and a steal in 32.0 minutes with three double-doubles in four games against top-five opponents. And these numbers include her effort against Stanford Nov. 13 that saw her finish with nine points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.

"I don't know if I expect (these awards)," Stewart said. "I think that as an individual, and aside from the team aspect, I think that I have individual goals for myself. And, of course, I want to be considered the best player in our conference, the best player in the country. Just because as a competitive person, I want to be looked at as the best player I can be, and I think that I can go pretty far with that."